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Multiple-Meaning Words

A multiple-meaning word is spelled and said the same way but means different things: a bat flies at night, and you hit a ball with a bat. Context is the only clue, which is why these words are such good reading practice.

Here are 124 multiple-meaning words from past ClueBy puzzles, each with a real example sentence for every meaning. Use them as a reference, or make a printable worksheet below.

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Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

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Word bank
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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: march · bark · firm · hide · field · board · nail · tear

  1. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  2. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  3. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  4. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  5. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  6. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  7. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  8. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  9. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  10. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  11. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  12. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  13. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  14. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  15. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  16. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  17. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  18. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  19. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  20. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  21. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  22. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  23. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  24. The ________________ went through the wall.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com

Answer key

  1. bark — a dog's sound
  2. march — music
  3. hide — animal skin
  4. tear — to rip
  5. hide — to keep secret
  6. tear — from crying
  7. field — for sport
  8. board — a flat piece
  9. bark — of a tree
  10. bark — to shout
  11. firm — decided
  12. nail — on a finger
  13. tear — from crying
  14. firm — a company
  15. field — a subject
  16. march — the month
  17. board — a committee
  18. march — the month
  19. board — to get on
  20. firm — steady
  21. field — farmland
  22. nail — for a hammer
  23. hide — to keep secret
  24. nail — for a hammer

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

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Frequently asked questions

What are multiple-meaning words?

Words with the same spelling and pronunciation but more than one meaning, like bark (of a dog or of a tree) or bank (for money or of a river). You can only tell which meaning is meant from the rest of the sentence.

Are multiple-meaning words the same as homonyms?

Mostly, yes. Teachers often use "multiple-meaning words" and "homonyms" for the same idea. Homophones are different: they sound alike but are spelled differently, like flour and flower.

Are the worksheets free?

Yes. Make and print as many as you like for home or classroom use. Each sheet has its own link, so you can print the same one again.

Where do the words come from?

From past ClueBy puzzles, a daily game where you sort twelve sentences by their missing word. A new puzzle every day adds four more words to this list.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com